


Co-parent

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: A Thousand Ways [9]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Feels, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Realization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 02:05:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10777167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: “You’re my co-parent,” Danny breathed, stunned.“What?”This time, Steve’s voice was enough to jerk him back into reality. Or maybe not his voice so much as the sheer shock in it, like Steve had also missed the fact that Danny had hijacked him into step-fatherhood.Danny has a revelation. (Light spoilers for 7X23)





	Co-parent

Danny had known the kids would be in bed by the time he made it home, because no matter how reckless Steve was with himself he was amazingly grown up when it came to Grace and Charlie. Steve knew when their weekend bedtimes were - he'd been the one to help Danny decide when to set them - and if anything he was slightly better at getting Grace to put down her phone and go to bed than Danny himself was.

(Danny loved his daughter more than life, but she'd inherited his tendency to mouth off. Their combined sass, at times, didn't make for the most harmonious conversation.)

He headed inside to find Steve cleaning up the kitchen, no doubt trying to pretend he hadn't ordered the kids pizza for dinner. "Everything squared away with Makino?" Steve asked, wiping down the counter.

Danny nodded, leaning against the doorway to watch. Rachel had always been so tense when he’d come home late. He’d tried to tell her time and time again that he wasn’t cheating on her, and it wasn’t until they’d divorced that he’d realized his job had been the other woman all along. "HPD has him the rest of the night, and I'll head back in the morning to oversee the transfer."

"Makes sense." Steve headed over to the sink, rinsing out the washcloth before hanging it over the faucet to dry. "I can spend the night on the couch, hang out with the kids tomorrow while you’re busy.”

"Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated." He'd bought a fold-out couch for when Steve did stay over, since his partner was a freakish giant who couldn't fit comfortably on a normal couch. "I'll even make pancakes."

Steve smirked. "Just so long as it's not eggs."

"You, mister, are the last person in the _world_ who gets to talk about the proper cooking of eggs." He followed Steve into the living room. "Besides, you know perfectly well that Charlie loves my eggs."

Steve sighed dramatically as he and Danny sat back down on the couch. "Only because he doesn't know any better. Luckily, you both have much better taste in beds."

Danny smiled, picturing it in his head. "Charlie liked it?" He'd been excited when Danny had brought it home, but kids' moods could change faster than the weather.

Steve smiled back. "He loved it. You may have a future Indy 500 winner on your hands." He leaned forward. "And for the record, I told him you built it on your own. Which you would have, if not for the old case and the fact that you threw the instructions away."

" _Everyone_ throws instructions away," Danny said, instead of thank you. Just like he'd said some smartass line instead of "thank you" earlier, when Steve had driven his truck through the wall of a house and saved himself from becoming the only male parent Danny's kids had—

Wait, what?

Steve was saying something else, about how if no one followed instructions then the Allies never would have won WWII, but Danny was too busy staring at the thought that had just appeared inside his head. It... It was ridiculous. As he'd just explained to Makino, he and his kids had plenty of people watching out for them now. That was how family _worked_.

Except...he couldn't see Chin, Kono or Lou staying at the house with the kids while he took care of something. They'd do it at _their_ houses, if it happened, and Danny would pick them up and take them home and put them to bed. Jerry had watched the kids at the house, sometimes, but Danny had always tried like hell to be home in time to kiss them goodnight. When he couldn't, he resented that someone else got to do it.

 _Melissa_ didn't even kiss them goodnight. Hell, _Jerry_ was more likely to spend time with the kids than Melissa was, since Danny usually scheduled their time together when the kids were at Rachel's. When she'd asked, he'd said he was bad at sharing. Hopefully, she'd assumed he meant her.

Steve’s voice came from somewhere far away. “Danny?” His tone made it clear that he’d finally realized that something was wrong. “You okay?”

He wasn’t. He was remembering how he’d already talked to Kamekona about him and Steve coaching Little League again, the moment Charlie expressed an interest. He hadn’t even _asked_ Steve before he’d promised them both, just like he hadn’t considered doing it without Steve despite the fact that the man's baseball skills were still roughly similar to a blind grandmother who’d been raised on hockey. When he’d been about to be blown up by that bomb, or when he’d been about to be carted off to a South American prison, all he’d wanted was for Steve to take care of Grace. When one of the kids had a problem in school, or with anything, he talked to Steve about it. When Grace had let go of him to run to Steve for a hug the night of the dance, it had seemed like exactly the right thing for her to do. He’d lingered at the care center tonight, not at all upset by the thought that Steve would be the one to kiss his children goodnight.

It didn’t feel like sharing, when Steve spent time with the kids. It just... it felt like Steve was supposed to be there. It felt _right_.

“You’re my co-parent,” Danny breathed, stunned.

“What?”

This time, Steve’s voice was enough to jerk him back into reality. Or maybe not his voice so much as the sheer _shock_ in it, like Steve had _also_ missed the fact that Danny had hijacked him into step-fatherhood. Danny blinked, panic surging as he focused on the stunned, confused look on his partner’s face. Steve had knelt down in front of him at some point, clearly compelled by the nervous breakdown he could see happening, only now he’d frozen still as a statue.

“Nothing.” Danny forced himself to inhale, wondering how in the hell he could have missed something this _huge_. Maybe the trip down memory lane had been enough to clue him in, but he should have figured it out _years_ ago. “I said absolutely nothing.”

The only movement Steve made was to put his hands on Danny's knees, like he was either keeping himself upright or stopping Danny from bolting. His expression was similar to the one he usually got when he'd just found out there was a bomb about to go off somewhere, though in this context Danny had no idea what the hell it meant. "You said ' You're my co-parent.'" His voice was urgent but careful, like he was trying to get the shutdown sequence out of some terrified witness. "But you weren't focused on me.'"

Steve was asking him to lie to him, right? And Danny would, he _wanted_ to, except that the next time Grace or Charlie had a school thing Steve would read the signs. And he would probably bolt, as would any sensible person in his place, so it wasn't like he could get himself any _more_ in trouble.

So he swallowed, and made himself look Steve straight in the eye. "Who the hell else would I be talking about?" Panic and shock turned to exasperation on his tongue, the same way everything else did. "Both my children's schools have your contact number, Steve. It was my first backup, just like Stan was Rachel's, and now that Stan's fled the state you're the only backup for either of us. And I promise you, even if mine and Rachel's families all suddenly decided to make my life hell by moving to Hawaii, your name would still be third."

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything." Steve was still radiating earnest intensity, as if he was trying to comfort Danny instead of himself. "We're friends. We're _family_. It makes sense that I would be there."

Steve didn't _get_ it, and as much as Danny wanted to scream a little he couldn't even blame him. He'd never been a single parent. He didn't _know_. "Kono, Chin and Lou are family, Steve. But at Grace's dance, you were the one calling out her name when everyone went in. Lou ran to Will, the other guy ran to his kid, and you went straight to Grace. Kono and Chin _waited_ , because they knew that the dads needed to get some clutching in before everyone else got a turn, but you were _right_ there."

Steve had gone pale at some point while Danny was speaking, closer to terrified then any gunfight had ever made him. Danny's stomach twisted, thinking it was about the enforced parenthood, until Steve finally managed to open his mouth. "You... you seemed like you were okay with...."

"Of _course_ I was okay with it, you idiot." He leaned forward so he could look Steve in the eye. "I didn't even _blink_ , because it was _you_. There were three people in the entire world who had the right to clutch my kid before I'd gotten my fill in, and you were one of them."

And then _Danny_ had held onto him, because he'd still felt shaky as hell and needed it. Just like he'd called Steve today, and hadn't even mentioned the team. He'd known, distantly, that Steve would probably get them involved and they'd end up helping somehow, but all he'd been able to focus on was the fact that he needed _Steve_ with him. Not even so much for the extra firepower, though that was helpful, but because it was _Steve_.

Danny's stomach lurched at the thought, like he could feel the ground giving way underneath his feet. He had a terrible suspicion that he knew now why his brain hadn't let him figure out the whole "Steve as co-parent" thing.

Steve had that fragile look now, the one that meant he was having a lot of emotions at once and wasn't entirely sure what to do with any of them. "I love those kids, Danny," he rasped, eyes wet.

Danny's chest clenched, suddenly remembering Steve standing next to him in the hospital just after Charlie was born. "I know you do." Danny wanted to cry a little, even though he didn't _do_ that, so he squeezed Steve's hands where they rested on his knees and tried to figure out what in the hell he was going to _do_ about this.

Because he didn't want it to _stop_. He'd been on his own so long, even when he was married to Rachel, and as grateful as he was to the rest of the team he knew the real reason he wasn't alone anymore. He'd spent years taking around it, saying everything but what he meant, because once you'd figured out something like this you couldn't un-know it.

"Nothing has to change," Steve said, as if he could read Danny's mind. He sounded urgent, and shaky, as if his life depended on holding back reality.  "We could go on just like we have been."

Danny swallowed. "Until you get married and get another family." He didn't talk about his own theoretical wedding, already nauseatingly certain it wasn't going to happen. He'd dated Melissa for _years_ , and he still barely let her spend time with the kids. She was nice, she was great, but he already _had_ a co-parent and life-partner. He wasn't about to kick Steve out of his spot. Not only would it not be fair, he didn't _want_ to.

But there was no reason Steve wouldn't move on someday. He nearly had with Catherine before she fucked up, and even if he and Lynn didn’t end up together there would be _someone_. It was _Steve_.

Steve looked like he was in pain, more than he ever had when he'd been shot or stabbed. Of course - he hated not being there for people when they needed him. "Danny...."

"No, it's okay." Danny made himself inhale, tightening his hands on Steve's. It seemed like he and Rachel were both doomed to have this conversation with the kids more than once. "Just... Just please try to still be there for the kids, okay? I know it's not fair to you, you'll have your own life, and I'll have to give you up, but—"

He didn't get the chance to finish the rest of the sentence, because suddenly Steve was kissing him. The wild, desperate, straight-out-of-a-movie kind, where you're trying to say eight different things at once but there aren't enough words in the world to get them all out. It was _amazing_.

Then Steve ripped himself away, surging to his feet and hurrying back to the kitchen like he was escaping. Danny was frozen for a second, the entire universe reorienting itself inside his head, then he practically leapt off the couch and hurried after Steve. He was by the sink, breathing hard like normal people did after they ran a mile, and he looked like he was terrified of whatever was about to come out of Danny's mouth.

He knew what that felt like, the moment where you could feel the ground crumble beneath your feet. Made a world of difference when you had someone there to catch you.

"You _dope_ ," Danny breathed, loving him so much it felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest. "I gave you my _kids_. The fact that my heart was in there too was pretty much a given."

For the rest of Danny’s life, he would remember the sight of raw, naked _joy_ slowly flooding Steve’s face. “I love you,” he rasped, and though they’d said the words to each other dozens of times over the years they suddenly sounded wildly different. Or maybe they’d always sounded like that, and it was only now that he was hearing it right. “I love you _so much_.”

Danny’s chest hurt in the best way. “I love you, too.”

They moved at the same time, meeting in the middle with a kiss that stole the breath out of Danny’s lungs. He didn’t need it, though, not with Steve’s hands on his back and their tongues in each other’s mouths, years of unspoken emotions all demanding to be heard at once. Danny’s head was swimming, blood singing in his veins and nerve endings exploding like fireworks, and happily let himself drown as he tugged Steve’s head down enough to deepen the kiss.  

When they broke apart, breathing hard, Danny grinned up at him. “Steve,” he managed, “don’t sleep on the couch.”

Steve just grinned back, diving back down for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


End file.
